Of balls and other dramas
by GossipChii
Summary: [TAIORA - friendship] Taichi had decided to join the baseball team while Sora is trying hard to not lose her mind.


**Disclaimer:** Digimon ain't mine, otherwise tri. would've been wayyyy better.

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"What do you mean you joined _baseball_?" Sora had just finished her tennis practice when a couple of guys from the soccer team practically begged her to talk to Taichi, because he suddenly decided to change paths.

It had been over two years since Sora herself changed the soccer ball for a small and yellow tennis ball. She could still hear Taichi's begging for her to change her mind when she approached him to tell him about her new passion, and how she cried like she had never cried before in front of her best friend. Yet there they were again, while feeling her whole body experienced a Déjà vu. Of course, Taichi was not crying, but the whole confusion and exact same feeling was still there.

"I guess news fly fast," it felt as if they were in another dimension, because Taichi was so casually holding a baseball bat, his hair as messy as ever yet it felt so… wrong. "But yeah, I guess I did join _baseball_."

Sora looked even offended. It was their thing to walk home after training, sometimes joined by Yamato if he happened to stay in school for band practice. And there she was, in front of the baseball field looking at Taichi, except that was not Taichi, that was an alien who had come up to steal Taichi's identity because he suddenly liked… _baseball_.

"What is this all about? Did you get in a fight with coach Nakamura? Did you lose another bet with Koushiro?" Taichi had started to walk the way they used to walk every week day after practice, as if nothing had changed. Except, it all had.

"Why must this have something to do with someone else? What if I just wanted to try something different?" Taichi stopped walking out of sudden, making Sora crash straight into his back. Maybe all the brunette really wanted was to increase his muscular arms, she thought.

"But you _love_ soccer! Plus, it's not even tryout season." The redhead had so much in her head, she even felt as if she was the one changing hobby once again. "I'm just trying to understand, you didn't even tell me a thing, heck, not even hinted a thing! And you're the worst secret keeping person I know!"

They were standing in the corner of a street, their fellow classmates, and even random people were just starring at their now heated conversation. Sora was kind of an expert at keeping her cool when it came to deep conversations, while Taichi was the one who got way too passionate, not the other way around. Yet another proof that this was not Taichi, and something must have gone wrong.

"I told you, Sora," the red light turned into green, which meant they could cross the street now. Their steps, usually completely in sync, perhaps for all those walks they had taken since they were younger, felt off. "I wanted to try something different."

"But…," they were in front of Taichi's apartment building, which was slightly closer to school than Sora's. "You love soccer…"

"So did you." He smiled, yet he felt empty. Sora's heart ached. "And I believe you're the least person who could judge me for wanting to try something different," his grimace felt even sarcastic. Sora was trying to remember if she had done something recently to make him mad at her, but her mind went blank.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" His shape disappeared after the doors closed behind him, leaving Sora lightheaded.

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"He didn't tell you either?" Yamato had the custom to go to Sora's for dinner at least three times a week. They didn't specifically keep count of them, but it was part of their routine, even if they didn't notice.

"Not a thing," Yamato was laying down on Sora's couch, staring at his girlfriend, who couldn't stop walking from one side to another of her living room.

"I called Koushiro right before you got here, and he had no idea either." She finally sat down next to Ishida. Yamato could count down the times Sora looked like she had lost control with just a single hand, and this was one of them. He had never completely understood Sora and Taichi's friendship, and to him it was funny whenever someone assumed him and Taichi were best friends. Had they completely ignored the obvious affection those two had for each other?

"I'm just worried," she looked at him, her eyes crystallized. "He states he's just trying something new, but this was so sudden… I spoke with Mr. Nakamura and he's just as confused as everyone else, Taichi never told him a thing."

"What are you thinking?" Her head fell slowly into his shoulder, and he carefully caressed her hair.

"I just don't believe he's trying something new, I believe this goes deeper. He had never even _cared_ about baseball- even you can name more players from the national team!" Yamato chuckled. It was true he was not the big sports aficionado as his girlfriend or Taichi were, but baseball was something he enjoyed.

"Takeru told me Hikari said that he woke up quite early this morning. I mean, early for Taichi, and he went biking for an hour." Yamato had not tried to talk with the fuzzy haired, he knew he wouldn't cooperate if he felt overwhelmed.

"I think I'll catch him after practice on Monday," she sighed, looking up to find blue eyes. "And ask him if he wants to go eat ramen, you know he can't resist. You're invited too if you want," her smile was soft, yet Yamato knew he wasn't really invited. He laughed it off.

"I'd rather pass, there's no way I can eat ramen next to Taichi anymore," his eyes rolled, and just as they focused back on his girlfriend she was wearing a smile that just meant one thing.

"Knife of Ramen," and he pushed her away as her laughter filled the room.

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Sora waited leaning herself against the wall. Baseball practice, unlike soccer, finished half an hour after her tennis practice, so she had to wait for him. She was nervous for some reason, even insisting Yamato to join them once again, but the blonde refused to go. She knew damn well that this conversation was something that she had to have with Taichi, and only with Taichi. Any other add to the equation could change her whole plan.

Maybe Sora had even quite practiced what she wanted to say in front of the mirror. Maybe.

The whole school had not stopped talking about Taichi's sudden decision to join the baseball team. It wasn't like they weren't used to be the center of attention, but it was usually regarding fighting Digital Monsters, not banalities. Yet she guessed it was a slow time in school, or something.

Brown, bouncing hair caught her attention, and she couldn't deny how funny her best friend looked wearing the typical baseball uniform.

"Taichi!" He turned around, looking genuinely surprised to see her there.

"Didn't think you'd still be here," he smiled, walking back to her. "Don't you have Ikebana with your mom tonight?" And she did. Every Monday Sora would help her mom with her Ikebana cases, but she had explained Toshiko how much she needed to talk to Taichi, and if there was something her mom respected, was friendship.

"Change of plans," they both started walking towards the exit of their school, except Sora stopped him when he turned to the direction of their homes. "I was actually expecting you'd accept having ramen with me today? Like the old times?"

He didn't reply for what felt an eternity to the redhead, Taichi's eyes lingering between the corner of the street and her friend.

"You know I can't say no to ramen," and Sora felt relieved, as they both walked towards their go-to ramen place.

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"It's the worst idea I've ever heard," they were both laughing as if there had never been tension to begin with. Sora decided it was best to evade baseball if she wanted to have a normal conversation with Taichi. He could really be obstinate.

"You don't know what you're saying, it's the perfect combination between sweet and sour!" They _really_ were having conversation about food while they were eating. That's how their friendship worked, they could talk about anything, or so Sora hoped.

"You're implying chocolate with chicken is a good idea and I just don't see it," they had been in the restaurant for over an hour, most of the kids that went to the same spot after school had already left, so Sora guessed it was time to get serious. "So… you've been quite the conversation topic for the last few days."

"Aren't we always, though?" He immediately tensed his shoulders, Sora took a deep breath.

"You know what I mean… I've heard you're quite good, too."

"Yes, well, I guess sports are my thing."

"They really miss you on the soccer team, you know." And she wasn't just talking. The past weekend they had their worst game in months.

"They'll get over it, I'm sure."

"I'm not here to judge you," she held his hands, forcing him to look at her in the eyes. Sora had only had a few serious conversation with Taichi before, and one of them had been right before she asked Yamato out. She knew it wasn't easy for Taichi to talk about his feelings, but she had to try. Otherwise, no one else would. "I just want to understand what's behind this decision."

"It's just," he broke off Sora's grip, staring out at the window. After staying silent for the longest thirty seconds, he kept talking. "I didn't want to be only associated to soccer, you know? And I don't even care about others, I mean me. What if one day I wake up and I'm forty, and I can't play soccer anymore because my knees are too weak? And then I find out I'm nothing, nothing else makes me feel as passionate as chasing a damn ball!"

Sora knew he didn't mean to yell at her, and she could feel his despair. They were the only ones left in the restaurant, and she appreciated the waitresses had hidden in the kitchen.

"I don't know who I am or what I want to do in the future, and it's eating me inside. I've tried _so hard_ to ignore it but… I can't do it anymore."

"I really wish you could see yourself throughout anyone else's eyes," Taichi still wasn't looking back at her, but from his last sentence Sora knew he was about to break down crying. "The way you deliver yourself to anyone, no matter if you know them or not."

"Sometimes I see yourself helping someone and you don't even notice. Like, you always hold the door to every person, no matter if you've been doing that for over five minutes and the movie has already started," he chuckled, what a specific example had Sora chosen. "Remember that time you refused to go to bed because Hikari was feeling ill? Or how you took _six trains_ in order to get across town because that's where they were selling that Videogame Koushiro wanted so badly?"

"Or that time you played Jou's patient for hours just because he wanted to practice before he entered Junior High, even if we all knew he was still too young to be anywhere near to be a doctor at such age!"

"I kind of did it because he was giving me free candy…" he finally looked back at his best friend, feeling happier than he had felt in over a week.

"You get the point," she rolled her eyes, Taichi could always manage to find a way to ruin the emotional moments. "And don't think you'd get away without me mentioning that time I was so sad because mom was late home again and I didn't have anything to eat, so you decided you'd play Master Chef and cook something for me."

"Your mom was originally so mad at how much of a mess we made but couldn't help to calm down after she saw us eating so calmly while watching…" he bit his lower lip, Sora knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Japan playing at the World Cup."

"They lost, I remember I had to calm you down because you were so disappointed."

"You're really the best friend, even to people you don't know. We don't associate you with soccer, we associate you with your kindness and courage to step up for whoever needs your help." The staff at the restaurant had just finished cleaning everything up, but still didn't tell them a thing, which Sora paid with a smile.

"I understand you wanted to try something different, but I would hate to see you regretting this. I mean, you don't have much left of playing with these guys and they really miss you."

"They really suck without me, too."

"Taichi!" She hit his shoulder slowly, relieved to see his eyes shine again.

"Thank you, Sora. Really." He stood up from the table to approach his best friend and wrapped his arms around her before she could even react.

"You'll always have me, you know it," maybe he knew it, but she wanted to make sure he wouldn't forget it.

"Does that mean you'll try the chicken with chocolate?"

"Absolutely not!" And that's how Taichi got to ruin their emotional moment _again_.

That night Yagami called coach Nakamura to let him know he had been an idiot and he wanted to get back with the team, feeling complete once again.

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**Notes**

Thank you so much for reading! I don't even know why I wrote this, but it just came out pretty natural. Safe to say I hadn't written in a long time, so I hope this didn't suck. If you enjoyed it, I hope you make my day by leaving a **_review_**.

HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!

Xoxo, GossipChii.


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